Review: Sustainable wine estate Chateau Troplong Mondot
A Michelin-starred restaurant and state-of-the-art winery make this family-run property a dream for oenophiles
Location: Sitting pretty among a patchwork of extensive vineyards, sustainable wine estate Château Troplong Mondot overlooks the tiny medieval town of Saint-Émilion, which lies at the crossroads of Bordeaux, Saintonge and Périgord. The town and its surrounding vineyards were designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999 due to the region’s Romanesque churches, ruins and long history of winemaking. The estate is a 40-minute drive from Bordeaux airport.
First impressions: Drizzly skies can’t dampen the picture[1]perfect views sliding past the car window on our drive into the estate. Meticulously tended vines are set out in neat rows that rise and fall with the hillside, punctuated by ancient oak trees and low-lying stone walls. Château Troplong Mondot has a range of accommodation options, but it’s the main house you’ll want to book for groups of families and friends. Holding court atop Saint-Émilion’s famous limestone plateau, this 18th-century château provides an immediate sense of place, with tall windows delivering cinematic views of the vineyard as soon as guests open the door.
The facts: A family home since 1745, Château Troplong Mondot was acquired by French reinsurance company Scor in 2017. The property reopened in 2021 following a three-and-a-half-year renovation, which transformed the main château into an exclusive-use venue and added more hotel accommodation, a Michelin-starred restaurant and a state-of-the-art winery. Today, Château Troplong Mondot is a renowned Premier Grand Cru Classé wine estate and a pioneer in sustainability. Its location makes it the highest winery in the region, boasting three grape varieties and 25 sub-terroirs across its 36 hectares. “Bordeaux loves to do blends, and here you can take from all the different plots,” chief executive Aymeric de Gironde enthuses during a tour.
We wander the property’s extensive ‘permaculture’ vegetable garden; say hello to well-fed pigs and hens that dine solely on the restaurant’s waste; and stroke the resident horses that plough more than 80% of the vineyard. French interior designer Bruno Moinard, who led the redesign of Cartier’s boutiques, is responsible for the ‘quiet luxury’ feel of the estate’s on-site accommodation. The main château has capacity for 10 guests and boasts spacious living areas, a shaded terrace and an outdoor pool. Other accommodation options include the two-bedroom Vineyard House, tucked away at the end of a lavender and hydrangea-lined path, and The Keys of Troplong Mondot, home to two double bedrooms and a two-bedroom suite, which can be booked individually.
Ideal for: Oenophiles seeking an exclusive experience in Bordeaux. Château Troplong Mondot puts clients in the heart of a working vineyard and promises a glimpse behind the curtain, with a cutting-edge cellar and vat room and sustainability initiatives showing what the future looks like for wine growing in this region. Wine enthusiasts should visit in September to see the vineyard at the height of action.
Explore: Beyond the daily wine excursions, private picnics, yoga sessions and running and cycling trails on the estate, guests should make the short amble (or drive) into Saint-Émilion for a taste of France at its finest: think fragrant bakeries, alfresco wine bars, cobbled streets and Sunday markets.
Wow: The estate’s on-site restaurant is outstanding. Les Belles Perdix boasts both a Michelin and Green star owing to its sustainability efforts and farm-to-table ethos, which sees 80% of ingredients sourced from its vegetable garden. We feast on delicate plates of herby ravioli submerged in a smoked tomato consommé and duck tart with the finest of crusts, served with mustard seeds and orange butter. It’s a spectacular celebration of seasonal, local produce, wrapped up in painfully pretty, almost-too-precious-to-eat mouthfuls. Almost...
Book it: Exclusive-use rates for the château start from €12,000 a night.
troplong-mondot.com
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